Toy Story 3 Alien Figure Review

Ah, the loveable little Pizza Planet aliens from Toy Story. First appearing in Toy Story 1, the aliens live in a grab claw machine at the local Pizza Planet. In one of the cutest scenes from the original film, Buzz lands inside the grab claw machine and finds the little guys who worship the grab claw as a god. Ever since their first appearance, the little green men have managed to appear in every other Toy Story film and even cameo in a few other cartoons.

In Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, LGMs or Little Green Men are the intensely loyal backbone of Star Command, keeping the station running while inventing/maintaining all of the equipment. When one of their own is kidnapped, the other LGMs will instinctively try to rescue him by any means necessary. LGMs are typically in awe of Buzz. While they generally like the other Rangers, they may not be able to tell one from another. Several of their race are also shown to work for Santa Claus, acting as his toy builders..

I’m not sure if the Aliens are explicitly explained much in the Toy Story films, but they did get a bit of backstory in the Buzz Lightyear cartoon. I’ve loved these little guys since they first showed up in the original film. Several toys of them have come out through the years, but Mattel’s versions for the 5 inch line of figures is perhaps the best incarnation of the Toy Story Aliens to date.

Packaging:

Mttel has packed them in a nice, almost collector friendly single card. The 3 for Toy Story 3 is embossed on the package and has a paper insert to really make it pop. Once you open that up, the 3 is actually a little paper item that can be removed. It’d be good for your Toy Story shelf. No twist ties or tape inside and yet this guy is held safe, snug and secure.

The back of the package has some of the other figures in the wave, but not every figure in the series. There is an awful lot of these figures on the shelves, so a checklist would have been great. Still, several of the core Toy Story 3 characters are featured and that’s a good start.

Sculpt:The sculpt here is excellent and shows Mattel’s meticulous attention to detail. These figures look as if they’ve been pulled right out of the screen. Although the Aliens represent a pretty simple design, I’ve seen some other companies fail to accurately capture the cute charm. Mattel has delivered in spades here with clean smooth surfaces and just the right colors.

The little green men are moderately detailed and adorned with their little logo on the chest. The paint application is pretty good with only minor slop on a couple of examples. Overall it’s a pretty good transfer of paint to plastic.

Speaking of plastic, Mattel has made these a soft rubber. In the film they appeared almost like squeak toys and that’s the feeling you get from this material. They don’t actually squeak, but they definitely have that same hollow rubber feeling to them.

The best part about these guys is the green color of their skin. That’s the color they’ve been cast in and it’s a screen accurate color representation. Mattel really knocked it out of the park with the color of these guys. They really represent their on-screen counterparts very well.

Articulation:Throughout the years, several companies have made the Toy Story Aliens and one theme always seems to prevail… NO ARTICULATION! Mattel has decided to buck the trend and actually include some articulation in this little guy… FINALLY!

Each arm is cut at the shoulder. It’s very simple and basic, but it makes a world of difference when posing these guys. I would have loved for the necks to be articulated as well, but even having simple cut arms is far more than any other version of these dudes. Even the $30 Thinkway Collection figures don’t sport articulation.

Accessories:There is a deluxe version of this set which features a poppin’ action where the figures shoot up out of a rocket. The basic line includes the rocket base, but no popping action. I actually like the base fairly well. It’s a simple inclusion, but I can’t imagine anything else that could come with these guys.

It’s got a spot for their feet and it says “PRIZE” on it via a sticker. It really looks like something you’d see at Chuck E. Cheese or Pizza Planet. Definitely gives it that grab claw machine feel.

The figure fits in well and gives you an additional way to display him. I’m really glad Mattel chose to include these.

Value:At a little over $7 in most stores this guy is a tad on the pricey side. That said, it’s a durable toy that kids will love. It’s also in my opinion the best version of these figures around. The larger Thinkway versions are simply TOO big in my view. Mattel has them the right size, with articulation at a more army builder affordable price. Staff up your Star Command crew with these little buggers. I know I did!

For such a simple figure, this guy gets a high score. Why? Because he’s done right. Mattel could have scrimped and made this figure a simple rubber chew toy, but by adding just a bit of articulation and detail they made it an iconic version of this character. This should be the template for all future little green Toy Story Alien figures. If you liked this review, please follow me on Twitter and keep checking in all week for holiday themed posts!